Make data analytics work for you; not the other way around

Sherlock Holmes doesn’t need any introduction. He has been one of the most famous detective geniuses ever created in the world of literature. Here’s a profound quote told by the character.

‘It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.’

Yes, the detective genius believed in the power of data. Long before the world began to recognize it! We live in the ocean of data!

The amount of data that’s being accumulated would surprise anyone. Here are some of the facts to understand how much data does the world generate every minute.

The internet population of the world has grown by 7.5 percent from 2016.

The internet currently has a population of 3.7 billion humans.

The number of text messages sent every minute equal to 15.2 million in 2017. It reported an increase of 334 percent from that of 2016.

Google gets 3.6 million searches every minute

Instagram gets 46,740 photos every minute

Twitter gets 456,000 tweets every minute

There are 600 new page edits on Wikipedia in sixty seconds

And the list goes on. Basically, we’re thriving in the era of big data. Did you know that ninety percent of the data that exists in the world was created in the last two years? And it’s sure to go up in the coming years.

The power of big data!

The power and potential of big data analytics are immense, and experts say we are yet to figure out the real possibilities of it. The 2014 Global Technology Report considered big data as “a new form of asset class.” It adds, “data are now the equivalent of oil or gold. And today we are seeing a data boom rivalling the Texas oil boom of the 20th century and the San Francisco gold rush of the 1800s.”

Are we analysing it well?

Data is growing immensely. But analysis is yet ashore to explore in its full charm. As told to Business Insider by Professor Patrick Wolfe, Executive Director of the University College of London’s Big Data Institute, “The amount of digital data in the universe is growing at an exponential rate, doubling every two years, and changing how we live in the world. ‘The rate at which we’re generating data is rapidly outpacing our ability to analyze it’. To become an expert in analyzing data one should opt certificates in data analytics. The aim of this certification is to make you strong enough in data mining, analyzing and visualizing.

In a scenario in which data is exploding, businesses can effectively use it to gain benefits. And we’ve seen industry majors like Ford, Amazon, Netflix, and more companies taking effective use of data to gain a competitive edge in the market. However, up to 0.5% of the entire data available is being utilised as of now. Just imagine if we make data work for us a little bit more!

So, is your business among the long list of companies switching into data-driven strategies? Here are a few ways to make data analytics work for you.

Set your goals right!

Oh! No, it’s not the one-size-fits-all situation here. Your data analytics strategy should be in tune with your specific requirements. As described in a blog at Mckinsey.com, ‘“Better performance” will mean different things to different companies. And it will mean that different types of data should be isolated, aggregated, and analyzed depending upon the specific use case. Sometimes, data points are hard to find, and, certainly, not all data points are equal. But it’s the data points that help meet your specific purpose that have the most value.’

Keep your questions right

One straight question that every business wants to find solutions for- How can the cost be reduced? More than that, your business will have a set of specific questions that big data can give solutions. So the questions you set as the base defines the effectiveness of data analytics for you. Go ahead with the right set of relevant questions with better clarity. It should be measurable as well. Design the question in such a way that it either qualify or disqualify potential solutions.

Take it into the action phase

Compelling visualisation of data is also essential for proper interpretations. You get the solutions for the pivotal questions through proper interpretation. However, the task is not complete. As you need to take it to the next level by taking the insights you derived from data analytics into action. The whole of the analytics efforts are meaningless if you are not getting into the application phase of the conclusions.

Data analytics is a technology whose time has come! As the tidal wave of big data continues to be the key to success in business, you cannot say no to data and analytics! But discover ways to make it work for you!